What are persistent physiological and psychological reactions?

Persistent physiological and psychological reactions are like when your body and mind remember a big event and keep reacting to it even after it's over.

Imagine you're playing in the park with your favorite toy, and suddenly a loud noise scares you, maybe a dog barked really loudly. Your heart starts beating fast, your face gets red, and you might hide behind a tree. That’s physiological, it's how your body reacts to something exciting or scary.

Now imagine that same loud noise happens again the next day, and again the next week. Every time, your heart beats fast, and you hide. Over time, even a soft sound like a leaf rustling might make you flinch. That’s psychological, it's how your mind remembers being scared and keeps reacting to similar things.

If this keeps happening for a long time, it's called persistent, like when you keep remembering that big noise even after the dog is gone.

Think of it like a song that gets stuck in your head. Once it starts playing, it’s hard to stop. Your body and mind are like that song, they keep reacting, even when the music isn’t playing anymore.